Jesse Watters
Appearance
Jesse Bailey Watters (born July 7, 1978) is an American conservative political commentator on Fox News. A frequent participant on the political talk show The O'Reilly Factor, he was then known for his man-on-the-street interviews, featured in his segment "Watters' World". It became its own show in 2015, and turned weekly in January 2017. In April 2017, he became a co-host of the roundtable series The Five. In January 2022, Watters became host of Jesse Watters Primetime. In June 2023, Fox News announced Watters as the permanent host of the network's 8 p.m. EST hour following the firing of Tucker Carlson. Watters first book, How I Saved the World, was published in 2021.
Quotes
[edit]- [Using an ambush interview with Dr Anthony Fauci to create a viral moment] Now you go in for the kill shot. The kill shot? With an ambush? Deadly. Because he doesn’t see it coming.
- At a Turning Point USA conference (December 20, 2021), as cited in "Fauci calls for Fox News host to be fired 'on the spot' for 'kill shot' comments" CNN (December 22, 2021)
- Dr Anthony Fauci said Watters should be fired "on the spot".
- [On White Dudes for Harris male-created Zoom call] It was basically saying "If you want to be accepted by women you should vote for a woman".
- To be a man and then vote for a woman just because she's a woman is either childish, that person has mommy issues or they’re just trying to be accepted by other women.
- And I heard the scientists say the other day when a man votes for a woman he actually transitions into a woman.
- I don't see why any man would vote Democrat, it's not the party of virtue, security, it's not the party of strength, it's definitely not the party of family.
- On The Five (Fox News, 30 July 2024), as cited in "Jesse Watters’ sexist rant over ‘White Dudes for Harris’ baffles his Fox News panel", The Independent (London, 2 August 2024)
- Referring to the fundraising campaign for Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign. Watters was joking, according to Fox News.
- She's going to get paralyzed in the situation room while the generals have their way with her.
- Claimed about US Vice President and 2024 Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, quoted in "Fox Hosts Turn Against Jesse Watters After Gross Comment on Harris", New Republic (August 27, 2024)
About Watters
[edit]- [A visit to Manhattan’s Chinatown during the 2016 presidential election] He kicks off the segment by asking two women if he needs to bow to them, following that up by asking a street vendor if the watches he's selling are stolen. If that's not enough, he then asks an elderly Chinese man and woman questions in English, when it's clear they don't understand him, and decides to throw in random references to karate and taekwondo – non-Chinese martial arts – for good measure. All of this is interspersed with clips of Mr Miyagi from Karate Kid (who is Japanese, if that needed to be said), Bruce Lee and giggling Asian schoolgirls from an Austin Powers movie, set to a backdrop of what I like to call chopstick music. It's so over the top that it reads almost as a parody of itself.
- Esther Wang "How can Fox News think it's OK to mock Asian Americans in 2016?" The Guardian (6 October 2016)